//------------------------------//
// Conflict 
// Story: Dawn of Discord 
// by BubblesOnMyButt 
//------------------------------//

	"You-you-you MONSTER!!!!! What is wrong with you?!?! How could you make me do something like this?!?!" Dusk was beyond outrage, what Discord outlined was murder... not that Discord cared. Discord looked down at him, Dusk's horn was beginning to glow, the time Dusk had spent preserved in the house had allowed him to fill up his magical wellspring slightly. "Dusk, Dusk, Dusk...", Discord snapped his talons, Dusk felt his ribs compact and his eyes felt like they were popping out of his head. "If you want to defy the rules of my game then I could just kill you off right here and everypony else could be tortured right to their untimely demise. You know, if that is what you prefer..."
Dusk struggled for a breath of air as Discord continued to constrict his airway, "*No, don't...*" Discord snapped his talons again and Dusk felt his ribs release. "You may want to be careful from now on Dusk, as it turns out it's more entertaining to torture you than play this game." Dusk fell to the floor and began to choke for air, "Are *gasp* there *gasp* any more *gasp* rules *gasp* that I need to know about *cough cough*?"
Discord circled the three ponies still awaiting their orders, "Well, now that you mention it...", he pointed to the sky and a dark blast of raw magic ascended to the skies above. The magic struck the rest of the floating ash and everything scattered to the stars above, the tendrils of magic began to swirl around the ash and glow as its form altered. "It's a giant... clock?" Discord chuckled, "No, it's a countdown obviously. When I say the game starts then you will have until the countdown ends to save as many as you can." Dusk eyed the clock but saw no indication of any measurement of time, it was just a face and two hands. "And how long until the countdown ends?" Discord pointed at Dusk while his eyes were to the skies and his three servants charged, "Who knows? Oh, and game on."

Discord disappeared before Dusk could even look down, the three servants of Discord had already dashed forward with a blood lust in their eyes. Whatever Discord had done to them was apparently effective as the first one threw a punch without holding back in the slightest degree. Dusk wasn't fast enough on his own so he was forced to take the hit for its full value, the force shot Dusk into the air and back a couple feet before he tumbled across the ground. The cobblestone path that networked the town was now rubbery and had a springy quality which made it easy for Dusk to roll over onto his hooves after landing. "Dusk, you have fight back", he told himself, "There must be some way that you can." His horn glowed slightly and he began to feel at peace, even amid the flames of the town and the swarming movements of his attackers.
A faint white light cut through the singed shadows of the fires and enveloped Dusk; the feeling was very familiar and warmly welcomed. "Evening! What are you doing here? Outside of my body I mean..." A hoof flew from the left then the right and the clumsy barrage continued, each time Dusk ducking out of range or taking a nick, "I tapped into some of you wellspring before Discord drained it, I then borrowed some of the energy he was using to manifest himself but not enough apparently." The light that was Evening was forming around Dusk's skin and hardening, his warmth flowed into Dusk and Dusk was able to dodge more effectively. The main crony smashed his hoof into the armor and reeled back for a second to nurse his wounds. "Quickly, use you magic!" Evening's advice to Dusk fell short however, "Huh?"
Time slowed as it often did when he had a conference with his inner self, 'I don't know how to use my magic.' Evening was in disbelief until he remembered why they where in this situation in the first place, 'Right, you've never used you magic, you've always done things by hoof. I'll give you the basics as we go along but until then, speeding hoof at two o'clock.'
Dusk stepped back and breathed in with Evening's commands, 'Ok, now you gather all you focus into your horn and imagine a line between your horn and his chest.' The hoof missed barely and Dusk's horned surged and his shining armor glowed brighter than before. "I am so sorry for this..." The colt looked at Dusk queerly and pondered what he meant. A white light welled up before imploding and a shock wave crumbled the ground at Dusk's hooves and propelled the crony across town.

The others kept pushing forward as though nothing had happened, "WHAT DID I JUST DO? THAT MADE NO SENSE! I THINK I ACCIDENTALLY KILLED HIM!" Another challenger ducked low before trying to score an uppercut against Dusk's unarmored chin. Dusk's reaction was faster, though, and the white light welled up once again and the shock wave slammed the assailant into the ground, unconscious. "OH NO! I DID IT AGAIN! THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!" Evening broke Dusk's rants half way through, 'Dusk, Dusk, DUSK!!! You didn't kill them, they are only unconscious. They are still breathing, you of all people should know this considering you spent weeks studying first aid.' The pony's chest rose and fell at a steady beat so Dusk took relief for the moment. The last pony was far away but was in a high speed gallop that would without a doubt follow up with a tackle or ram of some sort. "So, I'm only knocking them out?" His tone was oddly satisfied, like there was something about the thought that made Dusk excited. 'Yes, but why do you care? Dusk... You don't want to hurt them... Do you?'
Dusk poured all of his concentration into his horn and focused on the charging pony's forehead. The back of his head began to ring, 'Do it."

...

Dusk grinned darkly, "Maybe just a little bit."